When Britons David and Uma Cresswell booked a Christmas holiday in the Indian state of Kerala two years ago, they imagined clean beaches, Ayurvedic massages and the prospect of sipping ice cold martinis and beers while watching traditional bamboo houseboats floating past.

But the resort the couple from Wanstead, east London, visited did not have a licence, so alcohol was officially off the menu.

"The hotel management would sneak warm alcohol into our room with strict orders to only drink it there, which we really did not like doing," said Uma Cresswell. "It really ruined our holiday as you couldn't just walk up to the bar and order drinks."

The Cresswells' experience is set to become the norm in Kerala India's wettest state – where residents drink 8.3 litres of alcohol per person each year, more than twice the national average – is about to go dry.

State leaders are forcing the immediate closure of more than 400 bars, with another 312 losing their licences by March. Retail liquor stores will be phased out gradually.

The end goal, chief minister Oommen Chandy says, is total prohibition by 2024.

"I urge the people of Kerala to wholeheartedly support the phased ban on alcohol," Chandy tweeted earlier this month, adding that "homemakers" were especially happy with the decision.

Kerala has seen an epidemic of alcohol abuse in recent decades. According to the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre of India, 69% of crimes, 40% of road accidents and 80% of divorce and domestic violence cases in Kerala are linked to alcohol and substance abuse.

For decades, Jacob Varghese, 44, of Trivandrum, was one of those statistics. "I had my first drink at an Easter celebration at the age of 10," he said. "By my teenage years, I was binge drinking every few days."

"Eventually, I lost my job and my home. I was severely depressed and had lost all hope."

Varghese has been sober for 14 years and runs Madhumukti, or Freedom from Alcohol, a programme that provides counselling, shelter and meals for addicts throughout the state.

He applauds the government's decision. "I see children even younger than 12 getting addicted," he said. "Some type of control is needed and I personally believe prohibition will help."